Monday, June 29, 2015

Italy: Former model's mission at the most ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem

Vandalism and garbage throwing is not a new phenomenon at the most
ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Amid the
thousands of tombstones, some of which have been defaced or smashed into
pieces, there are areas full of trash and litter left by local
Palestinian youth from neighborhoods nearby.

One woman in particular is extremely agitated by the current situation. Mirella Petteni Haggiag, a former Italian model from Rome, makes her
way through the tombstones with a garbage bag in her hand several times
of year when she visits Israel. She comes ready to clean around the
tombstone of her late husband, Robert Haggiag, the legendary
Italian-American film producer.

“This is a holy place. It’s shocking to see what happens here”
Mirella Haggiag told Tazpit News Agency in an exclusive interview
recently. “The Arabs hold parties and leave behind a mess. For the past
five years, I come here and clean up.” “I want this place to be perfect
for my husband, may he rest in peace. But look at all this,” says
Mirella Haggiag, picking up the garbage and red coke cans strewn around.
“These must be the result of parties. It’s not nice.”

Because Mirella lives in Rome, she also sends someone to clean Robert
Haggiag’s gravestone or one of their children when she cannot be in
Jerusalem. “This isn’t actually as bad as other parts of the cemetery,”
she comments. “Over there, you can see the graves have been burnt and
some completely smashed up,” she says, pointing to the section where the
Afghanistan Jewish community is located. “They haven’t been able to
destroy my husband’s tomb,” she told Tazpit.

“My husband would have been 102 years old today. I can’t imagine what
he would say about this. People need to know what is happening to this
cemetery,” she says. More.